Monday 10 September 2012 03.46 EDT
First published on Monday 10 September 2012 03.46 EDT

A player from the Australian Rules football club Port Adelaide has died in an accident in Las Vegas following a fall from a hotel balcony.

John McCarthy, a 22-year-old midfielder, had been on holiday with a group of team-mates before he was found dead outside the Flamingo Hotel early on Sunday morning, Australian media reported.

The club's chief executive, Keith Thomas, said in Adelaide on Monday: "We were informed at 9.30 this morning that John had been involved in a fatal accident. It's our understanding that at the time of his death he wasn't with any other players. John was a very popular Port Adelaide player and has embraced the club as we have embraced him."

A group of 11 Port players left Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state, on Saturday for a holiday in the United States. The club said that it was in contact with the group, who are working with US authorities while investigations continue, and declined to give any other comment or details. Port initially delayed identifying McCarthy while authorities attempted to contact his family members.

McCarthy made 21 appearances for the top-flight Australian Football League side in the 2012 season and played a total of 18 matches for the Melbourne-based Collingwood in the previous four years.